#Fibroblast growth factor 2 enhances #Zika virus #infection in human #fetal #brain (J Infect Dis., abstract)

[Source: Journal of Infectious Diseases, full page: (LINK). Abstract, edited.]

Fibroblast growth factor 2 enhances Zika virus infection in human fetal brain

Daniel Limonta, Juan Jovel, Anil Kumar, Julia Lu, Shangmei Hou, Adriana M Airo, Joaquin Lopez-Orozco, Cheung Pang Wong, Leina Saito, William Branton, Gane Ka-Shu Wong, Andrew Mason, Christopher Power, Tom C Hobman

The Journal of Infectious Diseases, jiz073, https://doi.org/10.1093/infdis/jiz073

Published: 13 February 2019

 

Abstract

Zika virus (ZIKV) is an emerging pathogen that can cause microcephaly and other neurological defects in developing fetuses. The cellular response to ZIKV in the fetal brain is not well understood. Here, we show that ZIKV infection of human fetal astrocytes (HFAs), the most abundant cell type in the brain, results in elevated expression and secretion of fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2). This cytokine was shown to enhance replication and spread of ZIKV in HFAs and human fetal brain explants. The pro-viral effect of FGF2 is likely mediated in part by suppression of the interferon response, which would represent a novel mechanism by which viruses antagonize host antiviral defenses. We posit that FGF2-enhanced virus replication in the fetal brain contributes to the neurodevelopmental disorders associated with in utero ZIKV infection. As such, targeting FGF2-dependent signaling should be explored further as a strategy to limit replication of ZIKV.

Zika virus, fibroblast growth factor 2, astrocytes, fetal brain, explant, interferon, congenital, MAP kinase

Issue Section: Major Article

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Keywords: Zika Virus; Zika Congenital Infection.

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Giuseppe Michieli

I am an Italian blogger, active since 2005 with main focus on emerging infectious diseases such as avian influenza, SARS, antibiotics resistance, and many other global Health issues. Other fields of interest are: climate change, global warming, geological and biological sciences. My activity consists mainly in collection and analysis of news, public services updates, confronting sources and making decision about what are the 'signals' of an impending crisis (an outbreak, for example). When a signal is detected, I follow traces during the entire course of an event. I started in 2005 my blog ''A TIME'S MEMORY'', now with more than 40,000 posts and 3 millions of web interactions. Subsequently I added an Italian Language blog, then discontinued because of very low traffic and interest. I contributed for seven years to a public forum (FluTrackers.com) in the midst of the Ebola epidemic in West Africa in 2014, I left the site to continue alone my data tracking job.